Fifty-thousand-year vegetation and climate history of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, Bolivian Amazon

Pollen and charcoal records from two large, shallow lakes reveal that throughout most of the past 50,000 yr Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, in northeastern lowland Bolivia (southwestern Amazon Basin), was predominantly covered by savannas and seasonally dry semideciduous forests. Lowered atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, in combination with a longer dry season, caused expansion of dry forests and savannas during the last glacial period, especially at the last glacial maximum. These ecosystems persisted until the mid-Holocene, although they underwent significant species reassortment. Forest communities containing a mixture of evergreen and semideciduous species began to expand between 6000 and 3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Humid evergreen rain forests expanded to cover most of the area within the past 2000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., coincident with a reduction in fire frequencies. Comparisons between modern pollen spectra and vegetation reveal that the Moraceae-dominated rain forest pollen spectra likely have a regional source area at least 2-3 km beyond the lake shore, whereas the grass- and sedge-dominated savanna pollen spectra likely have a predominantly local source area. The Holocene vegetation changes are consistent with independent paleoprecipitation records from the Bolivian Altiplano and paleovegetation records from other parts of southwestern Amazonia. The progressive expansion in rain forests through the Holocene can be largely attributed to enhanced convective activity over Amazonia, due to greater seasonality of insolation in the Southern Hemisphere tropics driven by the precession cycle according to the Milankovitch Astronomical Theory.     

A high-resolution diatom reconstruction between 21,000 and 17,4000 14C yr BP from the southern Bolivian Altiplano (18–23°S)

A diatom study of lacustrine sediments in the southern part of the Bolivian Altiplano (Salar of Coipasa) provides a continuous record of the period 21,000–17,500 ¹⁴C yr BP. Constrained by seven AMS ¹⁴C dates, this record provides evidence that the Coipasa basin was filled by a shallow body of water during this time. Diatom/salinity and diatom/ionic composition transfer functions indicate that the lake was saline, dominated by sodium-chloride throughout all the period.A comparison with regional data shows that Lake Titicaca could not have overflowed towards the southern Bolivian Altiplano at that time. As this dry phase was not registered in Lake Coipasa, this lake was probably supplied by winter precipitation originating from the Pacific. But, recent data from the deep basin of Lake Titicaca show that the lake-level was higher during this time interval, and the question arises whether precipitation from Atlantic and Amazonia sources could have played an important role on the Altiplano during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This hypothesis needs to match other available paleoclimatic data from the lowlands of tropical South America, where there is evidence that during the LGM, conditions were drier than today. Global climate simulations suggest a positive P-E on the Altiplano, due to a strong cooling, reducing evaporative demand more than any increase in precipitations. An increase of winter precipitation from the Pacific is in agreement with data from the Chilean coast showing a northward locations of the Westerlies during the LGM. This paleoclimatic hypothesis is also in agreement with a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, which indicates weaker summer precipitation and stronger winter precipitation in the tropical areas.     

Neo-liberal ruptures: Local political entities and neighbourhood networks in El Alto, Bolivia

In October 2003, hundreds of thousands of Bolivians took to the streets demanding the resignation of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. After 20 years of neo-liberal policies - and the failures to improve the living conditions of the majority - the proposal to export natural gas via Chile was taken by the population as yet another step to sustain an unjust political order. Facing a direct challenge by the population the Sánchez de Lozada administration responded with indiscriminate military force. The result was 63 dead and over 300 wounded, which deepened and extended the social rage and eventually forced the resignation of the President. The neo-liberal project - promoted and defended by Sánchez de Lozada - collapsed. The city of El Alto was the epicentre of the challenges to the legitimacy of this political order. This article focuses on the role of local political entities and neighbourhood networks from El Alto in articulating political spaces that challenged the legitimacy of the institutional infrastructure and led to the October 2003 ruptures in the neo-liberal project. Furthermore, I make the case that the particular histories and memories (of “relocalized” miners and indigenous/peasants) that converged in and defined this city were pivotal in the organization of a “political subsoil” that surged to the surface during the October 2003 events.     

Control of syntectonic erosion and sedimentation on kinematic evolution of a multidecollement fold and thrust zone: Analogue modeling of folding in the southern subandean of Bolivia

Several analogue modeling studies have been conducted during the past fifteen years with the aim to discuss the effects of sedimentation and erosion on Foreland Fold and Thrust Belt, among which a few have analyzed these processes at kilometric scale (Malavieille et al., 1993; Nalpas et al., 1999; Barrier et al., 2002; Pichot and Nalpas, 2009). The influence of syn-deformation sedimentation and erosion on the structural evolution of FFTB has been clearly demonstrated. Here, we propose to go further in this approach by the study of a more complex system with a double decollement level. The natural study case is the Bolivian sub-Andean thrust and fold belt, which present all the required criteria, such as the double decollement level. A set of analogue models performed under a CT-scan have been used to test the influence of several parameters on a fold and thrust belt system, among which: (i) the spatial variation of the sediment input, (ii) the spatial variation of the erosion rate, (iii) the relative distribution of sedimentation between foreland and hinterland. These experiments led to the following observations:

• 1. The upper decollement level acts as a decoupling level in case of increased sedimentation rate: it results in the verticalization of the shallower part (above the upper decollement level), while the deeper parts are not impacted.
• 2. Similarly, the increase of the erosion rate involves the uplift of the deeper part (below the upper decollement level), whereas the shallower parts are not impacted.
• 3. A high sedimentation rate in the foreland involves a fault and fold vergence reversal, followed by a back-thrusting of the shallower part.
• 4. A high sedimentation rate in the hinterland favours thrust development toward the foreland in the shallower parts.

     

Pluie ou neige? Dispositif de mesures pluviographiques dans les Andes de Bolivie et interprétation des enregistrements/Rainfall or snowfall? Device for measuring the precipitation phase in the Bolivian Andes and analysis of the records

Abstract

Abstract The knowledge of the precipitation phase, solid or liquid, is important in high mountains, in order to use models of water and energy balances. During an experiment led in the Bolivian Andes, a complete weather station was installed at an altitude close to 4800 m, including two raingauge recorders, the first one with added antifreeze and oil, based on weight measurement, and the other one with tipping buckets. This device allowed a realistic partition of the liquid and solid phases in this region of tropical mountains, where the observed snow pack at the ground level is strongly influenced by the extremely high solar radiation and where the snow cover is ephemeral. The automation of the ?raingauges? method, compared with several other classical methods, shows satisfactory results.     

Sources, distribution and storage of heavy metals in the Río Pilcomayo, Bolivia

The Río Pilcomayo rises on the Cerro Rico de Potosí precious metal-polymetallic tin deposits of Bolivia, and flows in a southeasterly direction for ca. 600 km to Bolivia's southern border with Argentina. Mining of the Potosí deposits has occurred continuously since 1545, generating large quantities of waste materials in the headwater of the basin. In addition, a tailings dam breach at the Porco mine in 1996 released an estimated 235 000 m³ of tailings and fluid into the upper reaches of the Río Pilaya, the largest tributary to the Pilcomayo.Concentrations of As, Sb, Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ag, Tl and Zn in contemporary channel sediments upstream of the Pilaya confluence are significantly elevated above background values. Elevated levels appear to be associated with pyrite- and other sulphide mineral-bearing tailings materials transported more than 200 km downstream of the Potosí mines. Significant downstream declines in elemental concentrations occur within 15 km, and again between 150 and 200 km, from the mines. The initial decrease in concentrations is due to the rapid dilution of nearly pure tailings effluent released to the river from milling facilities near Potosí. The latter decrease results from a combination of geomorphic processes including the storage of sediment-borne metals within the channel bed and the influx of ‘clean’ sediment from several large tributaries. Downstream of the Pilaya confluence, concentrations of Cu, Pb, Hg and Zn are only slightly elevated above background values, and Ag, Cd, Sb and Tl cannot be distinguished from background levels. These data suggest that while the Porco tailings spill may have had a significant short-term impact on sediment and water quality along the lower reaches of the Río Pilcomayo, its longer-term impacts were limited. Metals stored and eroded from alluvial deposits of historical age in upstream reaches appear to be an important source of metals to the river today. An additional, and perhaps more significant source, is the release of tailings effluent to the river from modern milling operations. The transport of these contaminants downstream of Icla (203 km from Potosí) appears to be restricted by aggradational processes occurring in the vicinity of Puente Sucre. In addition, downstream of the confluence of the Río Pilaya, inputs of large amounts of ‘clean’ sediment have caused dilution of the metal contaminants. Data from other studies where similar geomorphic processes have occurred suggest that the metals in the upper Pilcomayo may eventually be moved downvalley as the aggradational processes are reversed and channel stabilisation occurs. Thus, the most significant impacts of metal contamination may not be realised in downstream areas for decades.     

Deconstructing the best case scenario: lessons from water politics in La Paz-El Alto, Bolivia

For nearly a decade the La Paz-El Alto concession in Bolivia was heralded by donor organizations, the state and the commercial water industry alike as an emblematic ‘pro-poor’ water concession under the private sector model. Managed by one of the largest water multinationals in the world (the French company Suez), the network was extended beyond the new connections required by the original ‘pro-poor’ contract, acclaimed as a pioneer of new pro-poor technologies and frequently disseminated internationally as an example of best practice. This paper analyses the La Paz-El Alto concession’s pro-poor image focusing on issues of social exclusion and network extension, contract negotiation, participation and transparency. It documents the rise of social protest about the concession and critiques the failure of neoliberal regulatory systems to promote accountability to the poor. In the context of the continued transnationalisation of the water industry the paper highlights the need for new mechanisms and delivery models to ensure greater national control over private companies and the development of a framework for international water governance.     

Glacier mass balance of tropical Zongo glacier, Bolivia, comparing hydrological and glaciological methods

A glaciological program has been undertaken since 1991 on Zongo glacier in Bolivia (6000–4850 m asl, 2.4 km², 16°S). This program involves mass balance measurements, hydrological studies and energy balance investigations. On outer-tropical glaciers, melting and snow accumulation are both maximum in the wet season (austral summer), whereas the dry season (winter) is a period of low ablation. Errors on each term of the glaciological (stakes, snow-pits and integration method of the measurements) and hydrological (precipitation, discharge and runoff coefficient of free ice areas) methods are investigated to estimate the overall accuracy of the mass balance measurements. The hydrological budget is less than the glaciological one (mean difference: 60 cm w.e. per year), but both methods reproduce similar inter-annual variations. Errors in assessment of evaporation or water storage inside the glacier cannot explain the discrepancy. Errors using the glaciological method are large (around ± 40 cm w.e. per year), but no bias can explain the departure from the hydrological balance. Errors on discharge measurements are small and the uncertainty on the runoff coefficient has a minor effect on the mass balance. We concluded that hydrological budgets are too low due to the catch deficiency of rain gauges and absence of precipitation measurements at high altitudes, emphasizing the difficulty to assess snowfall distribution in high mountainous basins.     

Isotopic tracers of paleohydrologic change in large lakes of the Bolivian Altiplano

We have developed an ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ²³⁴U/²³⁸U, and δ¹⁸O data set from carbonates associated with late Quaternary paleolake cycles on the southern Bolivian Altiplano as a tool for tracking and understanding the causes of lake-level fluctuations. Distinctive groupings of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are observed. Ratios are highest for the Ouki lake cycle (120-95 ka) at 0.70932, lowest for Coipasa lake cycle (12.8-11.4 ka) at 0.70853, and intermediate at 0.70881 to 0.70884 for the Salinas (95-80 ka), Inca Huasi (~ 45 ka), Sajsi (24-20.5 ka), and Tauca (18.1-14.1 ka) lake cycles. These Sr ratios reflect variable contributions from the eastern and western Cordilleras. The Laca hydrologic divide exerts a primary influence on modern and paleolake ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios; waters show higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios north of this divide. Most lake cycles were sustained by slightly more rainfall north of this divide but with minimal input from Lake Titicaca. The Coipasa lake cycle appears to have been sustained mainly by rainfall south of this divide. In contrast, the Ouki lake cycle was an expansive lake, deepest in the northern (Poópo) basin, and spilling southward. These results indicate that regional variability in central Andean wet events can be reconstructed using geochemical patterns from this lake system.     

Preliminary spectral characterization of snow in a high altitude tropical glacier and potential effects of impurities in snow on albedo of tropical glaciers

This paper presents some preliminary measurements of snow spectral reflectance on the tropical Bolivian Zongo glacier. Measurements show a correct agreement with theoretical spectral albedo of pure snow in the near infrared region, but lower values in the visible region (by 10–20%) probably due to aerosols contained in snow. Impurity contents ranged from 10 to 100 ppmw in one‐week‐old snow collected from the Zongo glacier, but measurements are scarce. Large amounts of snowfall partly compensate the proximity of dust sources in mid‐latitude glaciers, whereas on outer‐tropical glaciers precipitations are not abundant and are very seasonal, and sources of aerosols are proximate. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.